Boat lift attachment with side mount actuators

ABSTRACT

An onboard lift for lifting a boat such as a pontoon boat includes legs that have one end pivotally attached to a bottom substantially horizontal surface of a boat deck. The legs are typically continuous substantially imperforate tubes throughout essentially the entire length. The lower ends of the legs carry support feet or pads. One end of an actuator attaches to an outer side of one of the tubular legs and another end of the actuator is attached to a bottom substantially horizontal bottom surface of the boat deck. The actuators are manipulated to pivot each of the legs between a retracted or stowed position where the legs are substantially parallel to the bottom substantially horizontal surface of the boat deck and a working or lifting position where a pad or foot engages the bottom of the body of water and as the legs are further pivoted downwardly, the boat is lifted upward and out of the water.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/317,431 which was filed on Mar. 25, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/407,096 which was filed on Mar. 19, 2009 that claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/037,711 which was filed on Mar. 19, 2008 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/037,712 which was filed on Mar. 19, 2008, the contents of all of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to on-board boat lift structures that are typically attached to a bottom substantially horizontal platform of a pontoon boat. In particular, the present disclosure relates to on board lift structures that typically utilize tubular legs that are imperforated throughout the majority of their length, and which include actuators having extendable rods attached to the sides of the legs for pivoting the legs between a raised retracted or stowed position and an extended working or lifting position.

Existing boat lift structures that attach directly to the deck of a pontoon boat, for example are known, and the existing lifts have a plurality of legs that can be raised and lowered through the operation of actuators. The legs can be independently operable or operated in pairs, and will move from a stowed position where the legs are closely adjacent the bottom of a boat deck, such as in a pontoon boat, and then extended to raise the boat by having the legs engage the bottom of the body of water and lift the pontoon boat upwardly and out of the water.

However, many of the existing boat lift structures include legs with perforations in the exterior of the leg. The perforations can allow non-native invasive species such as, but not limited to, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and Eurasion water millfoil (Myriophullum spicatum) to become entrapped within the interior cavity of the leg through the perforations and transported to different bodies of water without the owner's knowledge. The introduction of non-native invasive species into aqueous eco-systems can cause severe detrimental effects on the eco-system of the particular body of water.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is an onboard lift for lifting a boat such as a pontoon boat. The lift includes legs that have one end pivotally attached to a bottom substantially horizontal surface of a boat deck. The legs are typically continuous substantially imperforate tubes throughout essentially the entire length. The lower ends of the legs carry support feet or pads. One end of an actuator attaches to an outer side of the tubular legs and another end of the actuator is attached to the bottom substantially horizontal surface of the boat deck frame. The actuator is manipulated to pivot each of the legs between a retracted or stowed position where the legs are substantially parallel to the bottom substantially horizontal surface of the boat deck and a working or lifting position where a pad or foot engages the bottom of the body of water and as the legs are further pivoted downwardly, the boat is lifted upward and out of the water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a typical pontoon boat having tubular lift legs according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pontoon boat shown in FIG. 1 with the support legs in an extended working or lifting position;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a single leg illustrating the mounting of an actuator and showing of the relative leg positions in a stowed position in solid lines and in the extended or working positions in dotted lines; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating control and power arrangements for the lift.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A pontoon boat and lift assembly is indicated generally at 10. The pontoon boat 10 includes a deck 14 formed with a plurality of cross members 16, that support the upper and lower deck material 18 and 19, respectively, where the deck material 18 and 19 is substantially flat and horizontal during use.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pontoon boat 10 has spaced apart pontoon members or floatation members 20. While three rows of pontoon members or floatation members 20 are illustrated, the lift assembly can be utilized with a pontoon boat having two or more spaced apart rows of pontoon members or floatation members 20.

A suitable railing 22 is usually attached to the upper deck material 18 and extends upwardly therefrom to prevent passengers from accidentally falling off of the pontoon boat 10. Typical pontoon boats are generally driven by outboard motors mounted to the rear of the deck 14.

While a single front leg 24 and back leg 24 are illustrated, the onboard lift 23 typically includes four legs 24 attached to the bottom substantially flat bottom surface 19 of the deck 14. Each of the legs 24 and actuators attached thereto has a similar construction such that in this application the construction of a single leg 24 will be described. While a four leg lift 23 is illustrated, a lift having three or more legs is contemplated.

The onboard lift 23 includes left front and back legs 24 that are aligned such that a plane 23 intersecting the left front and back legs 24 is parallel to a mid-plane 21 of the pontoon boat. The onboard lift 23 also includes right front and back legs 24 that are aligned such that a plane 25 intersecting the right legs 24 is parallel to the mid-plane 21 of the pontoon boat 10 and wherein the distance from the plane 23 intersecting the left legs 24 to the mid-plane 21 is the same as the distance from the plane 25 intersecting the right legs 24 to the mid-plane 21. The front legs and back legs 24 are also aligned such that planes intersecting the front legs 24 and the back legs 24 are perpendicular to the mid-plane.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a proximal end of each of the legs 24 is pivotally attached to the lower deck material 19 with a pivot pin 32 supported on a bracket 26 where each bracket 26 is attached to a bottom surface of the lower deck material 19. The pivot pin 32 is inserted though apertures in the bracket 26 that are aligned at an angle θ relative to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19. The angle θ can range from between about 5 to about 30°, and typically between about 10 to about 18° relative to the to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19. The typical angle θ is about 13° relative to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19.

By attaching the leg 24 to the bracket 26 at the angle θ relative to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19, when the legs 24 are extended through movement about the pivot pin 32, the travel of the legs 24 is not perpendicular relative to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19. As the legs 24 are extended from stowed position, which is illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 3, to the extended or working positions illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 3, the distance between the mid-plane 21 and a distal end of the leg 24 increases. As the legs 24 are extended, a distance between the distal ends of the legs 24 also increases, as best illustrated in FIG. 2. The base of the lift 23 is thereby increased which increases the stability of the pontoon boat 10 when positioned in a working or lifting position. The greater the angle θ, the wider the base and the better the stability when the pontoon is in a raised or stored position. However, the angle θ cannot be so great as to contact the rows of pontoon members or floatation members 20.

In the stowed position, the legs 24 are substantially horizontal against the lower deck material 19 of the platform 14. The legs 24 and the actuators 30 are completely out of the water when in the stowed position and create no additional drag on the boat.

A foot or support pad 28 is pivotally mounted on pivot pins 34 at a distal end of each leg 24. The pins 34 are supported on side straps 35 that extend downwardly from the distal end of the legs 24. A stop member 37 is provided to keep the forward ends of the pads 28 from pivoting downwardly beyond a position parallel with the leg 24 on which is mounted. The feet or pads 28 can be spring loaded to pivot the front end of the feet downwardly until the stop 37 is engaged, if desired. Any type of foot pad 28 can be used with the present attachment of the actuator 30 along the side of a leg 24 provided the foot pad 28 has adequate surface area to prevent the pad 28 from sinking into the bottom of the body of water. If the foot 28 sinks sufficiently into the bottom of the body of water, retracting the leg 24 from the bottom could be difficult.

The legs 24 are typically continuous substantially non-perforated tubular members that are right circular cylinders throughout their length. The legs 24 are of strength and size, to adequately support the pontoon boat 10 when the legs 24 are in their extended or working position with the pontoon boat 10 raised. The leg 24 need not be circular in cross section, but can have any cross sectional configuration that can maintain the pontoon boat 10 in the elevated position, including but not limited to a rectangular, square, polygonal, L shaped or I shaped cross section, if desired.

The legs 24 include aligned apertures proximate the top end that accept the pivot pin 32. However, the apertures are typically above the waterline due to their position relative to the rows of pontoon members or floatation members 20. Referring to FIG. 4, each leg 24 includes a second set of apertures that accepts a pivot pin 42 that attaches an extendible and retractable rod 31 of an actuator to a side of each leg 24. However, because the pivot pin 42 is inserted through the apertures, little to no seepage through the apertures occurs. In the event that water does seep through the seam between the aperture and the pivot pin 42 the distal end of the leg 24 includes an opening to allow water to drain from the interior of the leg 24.

In order to actuate the legs 24, a hydraulic cylinder 30 is attached to each leg 24. While a hydraulic cylinder 30 is typical, other actuators are also contemplated including pneumatic and electric powered actuators. The hydraulic cylinders 30 are positioned to the side of the legs 24 thus avoiding the need for openings or access to the interior of the legs, and they avoid the use of a pair of spaced apart legs sections with the actuator between them.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the hydraulic cylinders 30 have extendable and retractable rods 31 that are mounted to the outer sides of the legs 24. The base ends of hydraulic cylinders 30 are suitably mounted on pivot pins 38 that are supported on suitable brackets 39 attached to the underside of the platform 14. The pivot pins 38 are inclined at the same angle θ as the pivot pin 32 which causes the pivot pin 38 to be parallel to the pins 32. Thus, the legs 24 and the base end of actuators 30 are mounted on pins with parallel axes.

The bracket 39 is offset from the bracket 26 such that the hydraulic cylinder 30, when mounted to the substantially horizontal lower deck material 19 and the leg 24, has an axis extending from one attachment end to the other attachment end that is substantially parallel to the axis of the leg 24 that passes through the proximal and distal ends. Because the axes are parallel, the actuator 30 and the leg 24 do not bind when moved from the retracted and stowed position to the extended or working position.

The actuator rods 31 have distal ends that are pivotally mounted on suitable pivot pins 42 that extend through the legs 24. The pin 42 on each leg 24 is fixed in such that the rod end 32 and the hydraulic cylinder 30 are to the outer side of the respective leg 24. The pivot pins 42 are at the same angle θ as the angle θ of the pivot pins 32 and 38, which causes an axis of the pivot pins 42 to be parallel to axes of the pins 32 and 38.

The rods 31 of the hydraulic cylinder 30 can be extended and retracted in a normal manner through operation of known controls 46 by a boat operator. Each hydraulic cylinder 30 may operate independent of the others, such that each leg 24 is independently moveable relative to the other three legs 24. Alternatively, the two front hydraulic cylinders 30 may operate in conjunction with each other and the two rear hydraulic cylinders 30 operate in conjunction with each other.

The control 46 is illustrated in FIG. 5. The control 46 includes an up button 48 for the front legs 24, a down button 50 for the front legs 24, an up button 52 for the rear legs 24 and a down button 54 for the rear legs 24. These buttons 48, 50, 52, 54 enable the user to raise/lower the front of the pontoon boat 10 to a different height or separately than the rear of the pontoon boat 10, which is particularly important when raising the boat 10 on a sloped ground surface. That is, the separate front buttons 48, 50 and rear buttons 52, 54 enable the boat 12 to be leveled regardless of the grade of the shoreline/lake bottom contour, provided the boat 12 is positioned in-line with the direction of the grade so there is no side-to-side grade. Because the shoreline is typically perpendicular to the direction of the grade, it is easy for the boat operator to ascertain which direction to park the boat 10 parallel to the grade so the boat 10 can be lifted and fully leveled without any right-to-left leveling mechanism on the lift, keeping the control 46 relatively simple. Many equivalent controls can be used, including using a single rocker button for both up and down, via wired or wireless remote control, etc.

The control 46 also includes displays 56, which show the relative position of each set of legs 24. The preferred display 56 is low cost, such as a series of two or more LEDs 58 which can be lit to show how far the set of legs 24 is extended or retracted. For instance, the preferred control 46 has seven LEDs 58, which are illuminated to mark the extension of each set of legs 24 in approximately 15° increments. The LEDs 58 are positioned appropriately on the control 46 to communicate the meaning of each display 56, such as in two quarter circles relative to a printed or painted on depiction of a pontoon boat on the control 46. The LEDs 58 require little power to function. Additional power savings can be accomplished by lighting the LEDs 58 only when one of the buttons 48, 50, 52, 54 is being pressed or has recently been pressed. Other display configurations which could be used include dial or needle type displays, or other similar displays used on vehicle control panels and dashboards.

If desired, the control 46 may be set to time the duration of pressing the up and down buttons 48, 50, 52, 54, with the displays 56 estimating position based upon such timing. A sensor 60 may be positioned under the platform 14, which directly senses the position of one or both legs 24. The sensor 60 may be a simple position sensor, which directly assesses the angle of a leg 24 relative to its bracket 26. Alternatively, the sensor could assess the amount of extension of its cylinder 30. Additional displays may be added to the control 46, such as one for each support structure 10, particularly useful if the support structures are independently movable.

Typically two hydraulic pump arrangements 62 are provided, one pump arrangement 62 for powering the front leg 24 and the other pump arrangement 62 for independently powering the back legs 24. The pump arrangements 62 are preferably mounted above deck, with hydraulic power lines 64 running from the above-deck pump arrangements 62 to the below deck hydraulic cylinders 30.

Each power arrangement centrally includes a double-shafted, bi-directional motor 66. Each of the two shafts 68 drives a hydraulic bi-rotational pump 70, with each pump 70 being provided with its own oil reservoir (not separately shown). Switching for the bi-directional motor 66 is preferably provided by a reversing polarity DC contactor (not shown), and electronic circuit protection equipment (not shown) preferably is used to protect the reversing polarity DC contactor and the motor 66. Using a single motor 66 for each set of support legs 24, will cause separate right and left support legs 24 to extend or retract in unison at a consistent speed, despite not having a mechanical linkage to equalize speed or forces between the right and left legs 24, and despite having two separate hydraulic circuits 64. The two separate hydraulic circuits 64 are particularly beneficial for maintenance and troubleshooting of the hydraulic circuits 64, since properly tuned and working hydraulic circuits 64 will result in properly timed and positioned extension and retraction of the right and left legs 24. If a component of the hydraulic circuit 64 undergoes a problem, such as a leak or a high wear rate, that problem will evidence itself by improper timing or positioning of one of the legs 24, so the problem can be detected and corrected before causing further damage or catastrophic failure.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An onboard boat lift comprising: a plurality of support legs each having a length; a first mounting bracket attachable to a lower deck material of a boat pivotally mounting each of the support legs, the support legs pivoting about a pivot axis between a generally horizontal stowed position adjacent the lower deck material of the boat on which it is mounted, and a substantially upright support position; and a separate power actuator for moving a respective legs between the generally horizontal stowed position and the substantially upright support position, the power actuators each having an extendable and retractable rod, a first end of the respective power actuator being pivotally mounted to the lower deck material of a boat, and a second end of the respective power actuator being pivotally mounted to a side of the respective leg on an exterior thereof.
 2. The lift of claim 1 and wherein each leg comprises an imperforate tubular member throughout the length thereof.
 3. The lift of claim 1 and further comprising a first pivot pin extending through the first mounting bracket and the leg to pivotally attach the leg to the first mounting bracket.
 4. The lift of claim 3 and further comprising a second mounting bracket attached to the lower deck material wherein the first end of the power actuator is pivotally attached thereto, where in the second mounting bracket is offset from the first mounting bracket such that the power actuator is positionable along a side surface of the leg.
 5. The lift of claim 4 and further comprising a shaft extending from the side surface of the leg for mounting the second end of the power actuator to the leg.
 6. The lift of claim 1 and wherein the plurality of support legs comprises a front right leg, a front left leg, a back right leg and a back left leg wherein the front and back left legs are aligned such that a first plane passing through top ends of the front and back left legs is parallel and spaced a first distance from a mid-plane of the boat and wherein the front and back right legs are aligned such that a second plane passing through top ends of the front and back left legs is parallel to and spaced a second distance from the mid-plane of the boat.
 7. The lift of claim 6 and further comprising a power supply in communication with the left front leg, the right front leg, the left back leg and the right back leg wherein each of the legs is manipulated independent from each other.
 8. The lift of claim 6 and further comprising a power supply in communication with the left front leg, the right front leg, the left back leg and the right back leg wherein the left and right front legs are manipulated together as a pair independent of the left and right back legs and the left and right back legs are manipulated as a pair independent of the left and right front legs.
 9. The lift of claim 1 and wherein the power actuators comprise hydraulic cylinders for manipulating the legs between the generally horizontal stowed position and the substantially upright support position.
 10. The lift of claim 1 and further comprising a foot pivotally attached to attached to a distal end of each of the plurality of legs.
 11. The lift of claim 1 and wherein the foot is spring biased into an extended engaging position for contacting a bottom surface of a body of water.
 12. The lift of claim 1 and further comprising a stop to limit the rotation of the foot such that the foot is in the extended engaging position.
 13. An onboard boat lift comprising: a plurality of support legs each having a length between a proximal end and a distal end; a first mounting bracket attachable to a lower deck material of a boat pivotally mounting each of the support legs proximate the proximal end with a first pivot pin having a pivot axis, the support legs pivoting about the pivot axis between a generally horizontal stowed position adjacent the lower deck material of the boat on which it is mounted, and a substantially upright support position; a second mounting bracket attachable to the mower deck material of the boat and being offset from the first mounting bracket a selected distance; and a separate power actuator pivotally attached to the second mounting bracket proximate a first end with a second pivot pin having a second pivot axis and a second end of the actuator being pivotally attached to a mount extending from a side wall of the support legs and having a third pivot axis, the power actuator being manipulated for pivotally moving the actuator about the second and third pivot axes such that the respective legs are positioned between the generally horizontal stowed position and the substantially upright support position, the power actuators each having an extendable and retractable rod, a first end of the respective power actuator being pivotally mounted to the lower deck material of a boat, and a second end of the respective power actuator being pivotally mounted to a side of the respective leg on an exterior thereof.
 14. The lift of claim 13 wherein each leg comprises an imperforate tubular member throughout the length thereof.
 15. The lift of claim 13 and wherein the first pivot axis, the second pivot axis and the third pivot axis are parallel to each other.
 16. The lift of claim 13 and wherein the plurality of support legs comprises a front right leg, a front left leg, a back right leg and a back left leg wherein the front and back left legs are aligned such that a first plane passing through top ends of the front and back left legs is parallel and spaced a first distance from a mid-plane of the boat and wherein the front and back right legs are aligned such that a second plane passing through top ends of the front and back left legs is parallel to and spaced a second distance from the mid-plane of the boat.
 17. The lift of claim 16 and further comprising a power supply in communication with the left front leg, the right front leg, the left back leg and the right back leg wherein each of the legs is manipulated independent from each other.
 18. The lift of claim 16 and further comprising a power supply in communication with the left front leg, the right front leg, the left back leg and the right back leg wherein the left and right front legs are manipulated together as a pair independent of the left and right back legs and the left and right back legs are manipulated as a pair independent of the left and right front legs.
 19. The lift of claim 13 and wherein the power actuators comprise hydraulic cylinders for manipulating the legs between the generally horizontal stowed position and the substantially upright support position.
 20. The lift of claim 13 and further comprising a foot pivotally attached to attached to a distal end of each of the plurality of legs. 